AUBURN – They knew they could have been behind and probably should have been behind at halftime.

When they weren’t, that was a positive to build upon for the Edward Little boys’ soccer team Tuesday.

“We understood that Brunswick had won every game in which they were leading at halftime,” said senior midfielder Ethan Grund. “When we were 0-0, that’s when we felt we were in the game.”

Despite being dominated for the entire first half, the Red Eddies began to believe in their chances against the unbeaten Dragons. Though Brunswick took the lead twice in the second half, EL battled back to earn a hard-fought 2-2 tie.

“When they scored that first goal and they were dominating, I thought that was it,” said EL coach Dave Morin. “The kids showed great determination on defense. Brunswick is such a gifted team. Their footskills are just tremendous.”

Grund scored both goals for EL (5-0-1) while the Red Eddies’ defense produce a superb effort against the Dragons, which outshot EL 21-3. Brunswick also had a 10-0 advantage in corner kicks.

“They were starting to believe,” said Morin, whose team was ranked second in the latest Eastern A standings. “We weren’t going to have the ball as much as them, but we started to believe that we had a chance.”

Brunswick (5-0-1) outshot EL 13-0 in the first half, but the Dragons couldn’t capitalize. The Dragons were plagued by a number of fouls early on and put a number of shots wide or over the net.

“You’ve got to give them credit,” said Brunswick coach Peter Gardner, whose club was already down a couple of starters and lost Matt Peabody to an ankle injury in the final seconds of overtime. “Their defense did a nice job.

“We kind of knew coming in that this would be a struggle. With that in mind, it’s not a bad lesson.”

EL didn’t produce its first shot of the game until a bid from the left side by Cam Ivers 11:34 into the second half. That was the only save keeper Zach McMillan made. A Dragon goal with 27:18 left in regulation finally broke the stalemate. A cross by Gabe Warren deflected in off an EL defender. That lead lasted only until 21:56 remained. A Steven Giorgetti throw from the right sideline landed in front of the net where Grund kicked it home from 17 yards away.

“The ball got crossed in,” said Grund. “I was in with the crowd. It wound up on my foot, and I took the shot.”

EL had new life, but Brunswick dashed that with a blast from 25 yards by John Flaherty with 8:07 left. EL came right back. Branden Lever snuck behind the defense and was in alone before being tripped. It set up a direct kick opportunity. EL argued for a penalty kick, but Grund made it count regardless, tying the game with 6:45 remaining.

“They must have put seven people in the wall,” said Grund. “I saw a little bit of an opening and shot it to the top right corner.”

Brunswick had opportunities to break the tie. Justin Rosner moved up from the backline for a header that hit the crossbar with 1:04 left in regulation. Then in overtime, James Springer had an open net and a loose ball but couldn’t get a shot off. EL keeper Josh Mains, who was banged up in a collision in the overtime Lewiston win Saturday, made a stop on Warren, giving him eight saves.

“To go down 1-0, you think it’s over,” said Morin. “You go down 2-1, you think it’s over. The kids showed a lot of character.”